Wale Edun, minister of finance, says the N2 trillion economic stabilisation plan announced by President Bola Tinubu will prioritise food and energy security.

Edun spoke to journalists after the inauguration of the presidential economic coordination council (PECC) on Thursday.

He said the council members were presented with the outcomes of the president’s review of the accelerated stability and advancement plan.

The minister described the plan as an emergency measure set to span the next six months following the approval of the N2 trillion intervention package.

He said the package includes N350 billion for health and social welfare, N500 billion for agriculture and food security, N500 billion for the energy and power sector, and N650 billion for general business support.

“This is in addition to a range of promising tax measures, there is a range of Executive Orders which the president’s signed and are been gazetted to ease the cost of doing business at this particular time,” Edun said.

“There are a number of funding which will reduce the cost of interest rate for certain sectors in economy with small and medium scale in particular but also larger companies there is a line of credit that will allow them to fall cheaper than the elevated rate.

“This plan is a means of stabilising the economy and [to] get business growing again.

“We know what has happened since the micro economic measures which are necessary and have been implemented in a determined and consistent manner led to elevated cost for industries and for individuals.”

Edun said Tinubu’s focus is on food security, food production, and nutrition security.

He reaffirmed the president’s commitment to reducing losses in the crude oil sector and increasing production and sales to 2 million barrels per day.

In his remarks, Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings, said the president’s target of producing 2 million barrels of crude oil per day is achievable, emphasising the need to improve power generation in Nigeria.

In a move to revive Nigeria’s struggling economy, Tinubu announced a N2 trillion economic stabilisation plan on Thursday.

The plan was unveiled during the inauguration of the PECC.

Established in March, the PECC is chaired by the president and includes key government officials such as the vice-president, the senate president, and the chairman of the governors’ forum.

Prominent private sector leaders, including Dangote, Elumelu, and Bismarck Rewane will serve on the council for one year.

Britain’s new Labour government has pledged immediate action to grow the economy after clinching a landslide election victory to oust the Conservatives, but its task could be hampered by strained state finances following huge Covid expenditures.

The centre-left Labour administration led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised investment in key areas such as health and education but also stresses the need to balance the books.

This after government coffers were further hit by subsidies for energy bills after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent oil and gas prices rocketing.

– Stability –

Starmer will want to avoid a repeat of October 2022, when the then-Conservative government’s proposed unfunded tax cuts spooked markets and tanked the pound.

It also sank the chaotic premiership of Liz Truss, who lasted just 49 days before she was replaced by Rishi Sunak.

Truss then lost her seat in Thursday’s election.

Britain’s economy is currently on a more stable footing after exiting a mild recession and as inflation returns to normal.

Labour “will benefit from the economic recovery”, noted Ashley Webb, UK economist at Capital Economics research group.

However, eight years after Britain voted for Brexit, businesses still lament economic fallout caused by the country’s departure from the European Union, with little prospect of change in the near future.

Starmer has ruled out returning Britain to the European single market, customs union, or bringing back free movement of EU nationals.

– ‘Safe haven’ –

“I want investors to look at Britain and say it is a safe haven in a turbulent world, a place where I can invest with confidence in a world where perhaps other countries are tilting to more populist politics,” Labour finance spokesperson Rachel Reeves said ahead of Thursday’s UK vote.

She has also said that “change will be achieved only on the basis of iron discipline”.

British public debt has flirted with a level totalling 100 percent of gross domestic product in recent months — a situation not seen since the 1960s.

“The reason for Starmer’s popularity (is) because he offered a changeless change,” said James Wood, senior teaching associate in political economy at the University of Cambridge.

“He basically is a Conservative in a red tie,” Wood said in reference to the colour associated with the Labour party and Starmer’s prudence around spending.

Ahead of the election, Labour increasingly won support of company bosses and key UK publications — including the Financial Times —  who believe the party can successfully manage the economy.

Following Labour’s landslide, business chiefs on Friday urged Starmer to prioritise economic growth.

The Confederation of British Industry declared that “now is the moment to get behind growth”, while manufacturers’ organisation MakeUK said Labour “faced an “urgent need to kick start the UK’s anaemic growth levels of recent years and boost investment in our infrastructure”.

The City of London Corporation, which is the local authority for the capital’s financial district, called on Starmer to place the powerful sector “at the forefront of Labour’s plans to drive growth”.

– Spend and tax –

Included in Labour’s spending plans is the creation of publicly-owned Great British Energy, with the aim of slashing bills as millions of Britons still struggle with a high cost of living.

The party has an ambition also to hike defence spending to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product from around two.

According to Daniel Sopher, senior partner at tax specialists Sopher + Co, “tax is going to go up” to fund public services.

“There’s only so much to what one can increase debt to,” he told AFP.

At the same time, with Labour having been elected with a big majority, the party’s leadership may feel pressure from its own members to relax budget rules, according to analysts.

“I don’t think that anyone in the markets will be made nervous by yet another change of the fiscal rules,” said Jonathan Portes, an economist at King’s College London, noting that the Conservatives have altered them numerous times since winning power in 2010.

“Obviously the fiscal rules are going to change, the question is how will they change and will they change in a way that is sensible.”

[Vanguard]

British leader Rishi Sunak conceded defeat Friday to Keir Starmer’s main opposition Labour party in the UK general election, saying, “I take responsibility for the loss”.

“Today, power will change hands in a peaceful and orderly manner with goodwill on all sides,” said Sunak, as his Conservative party appeared heading for historic defeat to Labour.

The result ends 14 years of Conservative government during which five prime ministers ran the country.

Sunak became the prime minister on October 25, 2022, the youngest British Asian and the first Hindu to be in that position.

The 42-year-old is the youngest British Prime Minister since Robert Jenkinson.

AFP

Lawyers representing Aminu Ado Bayero, 15th emir of Kano, have withdrawn in the ongoing Kano emirate tussle before the state high court.

At the resumed court session on Thursday, Abdul Muhammed, counsel to the first respondent, informed the court that he had an affidavit of fact dated July 3, attached with a notice of appeal and a motion of stay of proceedings.

He urged the court to stay proceedings pending the hearing and determination of the motion at the appeal court.

“When a judge of a high court is aware of application in a higher court, the notification in the dependency in the lower court must be in affidavit of facts,” he said.

“It is expected that a trial court should stop the hearing on the matter pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”

He told the court that they were served with the court processes on Thursday morning.

He sought an adjournment that would enable them to respond but the court refused his prayers.

He therefore announced his withdrawal of service from the case.

Sanusi Musa, another member of the team, announced their withdrawal from the case on behalf of the other counsels for the first respondent.

“Myself and other counsels apply for the withdrawal of our representation and appearances,” Musa said.

Hassan Kyaure, counsel to the third, fourth and fifth respondents, told the court that he has filed an application for an extension of time and counter affidavit in response to the originating motion.

Kyaure prayed the court to set aside the Kano State Emirate Council repeal law as due process was not followed. He also asked that a fine of N1 billion be awarded against the plaintiffs.

Sunday Ekwe, counsel to the sixth respondent, told the court that he had nothing to present.

Responding, Eyitayo Fatogun, counsel to the applicant, urged the court to discount the respondent’s affidavit of facts pursuant to order 39, rules 1 and 2 of the court.

“The motion refers to a proposed notice of appeal not a notice of appeal. It shows that the affidavit of facts is just to delay the proceedings. My lord, the business of today is for the hearing of all pending applications,” he said.

Fatogun asked the court to dismiss the third, fourth and fifth respondents’ applications on the issue of Kano Emirate Repeal Law because the issue is not before the court.

THE RULING

Delivering the ruling, Amina Adamu-Aliyu, presiding judge, refused the application for a stay of proceedings.

“The respondent did not disclose any special fact to warrant any stay of proceedings,” she said.

The judge adjourned the case until July 18 for ruling on the applications for extension of time, notice of preliminary objection, setting aside ex parte order, joinder application, and for the judge to recuse herself, among others.

The applicants in the suit are the attorney-general of Kano, the speaker, and the Kano house of assembly.

Respondents are Aminu Bayero, Nasiru Ado Bayero, Ibrahim Abubakar II, Kabiru Muhammad Inuwa, Aliyu Ibrahim Gaya, inspector-general of police (IGP), director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the Nigerian Army.

In May, the court restrained Aminu Bayero from parading himself as the Emir of Kano pending the determination of the suit.

The court also ordered the police to take over the Nassarawa palace where Bayero has been sheltering since he returned to Kano after his dethronement.

[TheCable]